Abarn theatre is a barn refitted to stage plays. There is a long tradition in Europe dating back to at least the 19th century, and barn theatres are still common in England and the United States.[1] They were common in the United States during the 1930s assummer stock theater.[2][3]
In June 1947The Billboard wrote that about 200 barn theatres were recorded in the United States for that summer season.[4]
As of the 21st century two barn theaters inMichigan claim to be two of the oldest in the nation: Red Barn inSaugatuck andThe Barn Theatre inAugusta.[5]
While commonly summer barn theatres staged popular plays, some of them presented works of new dramatists and newBroadway try-outs.[6][4]
William Birk, author of a book about the historicalRabbit Run Theatre inMadison, Ohio, wrote that one of the reasons to move to barn theatres in the summers of the 1940s was the lack of air conditioning in big city theatres, including onBroadway.[7]
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